Connect Zilch to your AI

You need a Claude account at claude.ai. Free Claude accounts can add one connector. Paid accounts can add more.

Add the connector

1. Go to claude.ai and open Customize, then Connectors.
2. Click + Add, then Add custom connector.
3. For the name, type Zilch.
4. For the URL, paste this, then click Continue.
   Copy

   https://api.tryzilch.com/mcp

5. When Claude asks how to sign in, choose No sign-in.
6. Under Request headers, add one header:
   • Name: x-api-key
   • Value: your secret key from Step 1
7. Click Add.

Use Zilch in a chat

1. Start a new chat in Claude.
2. Click + at the bottom left, then Connectors, and switch on Zilch.
3. Ask Claude a question about your products.

Once it’s added, Zilch is also in the Claude desktop and mobile apps. Claude asks for your permission before it adds or changes anything in your Zilch account.

ChatGPT can’t connect to Zilch yet

ChatGPT only connects to tools you sign in to. Zilch connects with a secret key at the moment, and ChatGPT has nowhere to put one. We’re working on a Zilch sign-in so ChatGPT can connect too.

Until then, you can use Zilch from Claude, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code or Gemini CLI. To hear when ChatGPT works, email us at info@tryzilch.com.

Add the connector

Run this in your terminal:

claude mcp add --transport http --scope user zilch https://api.tryzilch.com/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_SECRET_KEY"

Replace YOUR_SECRET_KEY with your key from Step 1, keeping Bearer and the space after it.

--scope user adds Zilch to all your projects. Leave it out to add Zilch to the current project only.

Use Zilch

1. Start Claude Code and type /mcp. Zilch should show as connected.
2. Ask a question about your products.

Add the connector

1. Open ~/.cursor/mcp.json in your home folder. Create it if it doesn’t exist.
2. Paste this in:
   jsonCopy

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "zilch": {
         "url": "https://api.tryzilch.com/mcp",
         "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_SECRET_KEY" }
       }
     }
   }

   If the file already has an "mcpServers" section, add the "zilch" entry inside it instead.
3. Replace YOUR_SECRET_KEY with your key from Step 1, keeping Bearer and the space after it. Then save the file.

To add Zilch to one project only, use .cursor/mcp.json in that project instead. Don’t commit that file to git with your key in it.

Use Zilch

1. Check that Zilch is switched on in Cursor’s MCP settings.
2. Ask about your products in Cursor’s Agent chat.

Add the connector

1. In your project, create a file called .vscode/mcp.json and paste this in:
   jsonCopy

   {
     "servers": {
       "zilch": {
         "type": "http",
         "url": "https://api.tryzilch.com/mcp",
         "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer ${input:zilch-key}" }
       }
     },
     "inputs": [
       {
         "type": "promptString",
         "id": "zilch-key",
         "description": "Zilch secret API key",
         "password": true
       }
     ]
   }

   You don’t need to edit it. VS Code asks for your key and stores it securely, so the key isn’t saved in the file.
2. Save the file, then click Start just above "zilch".
3. Paste your secret key from Step 1 when VS Code asks for it.

To use Zilch in every project, open the Command Palette, run MCP: Open User Configuration and paste the same config there.

Use Zilch

1. Open Copilot Chat and switch to Agent mode.
2. Ask a question about your products.

Add the connector

1. Open ~/.gemini/settings.json in your home folder. Create it if it doesn’t exist.
2. Paste this in:
   jsonCopy

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "zilch": {
         "httpUrl": "https://api.tryzilch.com/mcp",
         "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_SECRET_KEY" }
       }
     }
   }

   If the file already has other settings, add the "mcpServers" section alongside them. If it already has an "mcpServers" section, add the "zilch" entry inside it.
3. Replace YOUR_SECRET_KEY with your key from Step 1, keeping Bearer and the space after it. Then save the file.

Use Zilch

1. Start Gemini CLI and type /mcp. Zilch should show as connected.
2. Ask a question about your products.

Connection details

Zilch works with any AI assistant that can connect to a remote MCP server and send a header with each request. Use these details:

If your assistant can only connect by signing in, and has nowhere to add a header, it can’t connect to Zilch yet.

Building your own integration instead? See the Partner API.